Rapid-pibe gtyit



C. R. SMITH.

RAPID FIRE GUN.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIG. I9I7.

C. R. SMITH.

RAPID FIRE GUN.

APPLLCATION FILED MAY16| 1917- Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

C. R. SMITH.

RAPID FIRE GUN.

APPLICATmN FILED MAY161917.

lzltvlltcdept. 2, 1919.

3 SHEETS- SHEET 3 E v IWW/141501 @Hanse R. 5ms-m atroz/neg UNITED STATES PATENT oEEicE.

CHARLES yIt. ASIVIITI-LOF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINIS.

RAPID-FIRE GUN.

To all whom t may camera.'V

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois, have invented certain newl and useful Improvements in Rapid-Fire Guns, of which the following is a specifica-l tion, reference being had f-tov the accompanying drawings.

This invention relatesl to fire arms, and

particularly to rapid fire guns and one of the objects of the invention is the provision of a gun sozfconstructed that it may be'red by an electric spark.

A further object` of the invention is .to

provide improved means for directing a cartridge into the loading chamber offthe gun and forcing the cartridge into position in the breech of the gun. y f

A further object -vis'to provide improved means for positivelyvactuating the breech bloclr and to provide vmeans for holding'the cartridge in place until the breech block has shifted into a position behind the cartridge.

A further object is to provide improved means for ejecting the cartridge after. ,the

projectile has vbeen discharged and in this connection to providey means for positively l.preventing the exploded shell from passing I30j back into the rear end of the loading chamber and lprovide limproved means for permitting the forward movement of the cartridge into osition for loading. j

Other objects will appear in the course vof the .following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying' drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view -of a rapid fire gun constructed in accordance with' my invention and showing the gun at the moment when a cartridge has just been forced home in the breech;

Fig. 2- isa plan vview of the gun in the position illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view, the barrel, the loading chamber and a portion of the frame being in sectiony and the parts being in the position shown'iii Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a top plan view, the barrel and loading chamber being in section and showing the gun in its firing position;

Fis. 5 is a section on the line .5s-,5 gf Fig. 2;

Specfication'of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 16, 1917. Serial No. 169,106.

longitudinally extending bore.

Patented' sept. 2, 1919.

',Fig. 6' is an elevation of tliebreech block; i l

Fig. 7 is a section on the line`l7r-7V of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 1s a fragmentary horizontal section on lan Aenlarged scale of the parts illustrated n i in Eig. 3;

Fig. 9 isa fragmentary vertical section through a portion ofthe barrel and the loading chamber showing the manner in which the cartridge is ejected; j

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section on the line 10--10 of Fig. 4 showing a means for `shifting the cartridge forward along the.

trough y53 uponthe forward movement of the gun;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the ejector 3 'i j Fig. 12 is a fragmentary vertical sectional `view through the rear end of the kbarrel 10;

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the breech block and the rail engaging means retracted.`

The gun which 1 have illustrated is of that type wherein therecoil-of theY gun shifts the, barrel rearward against*` the force of a compression spring and this rear-I ward movement of the gun acts to dis` charge the spent cartridge or shell and to reload the gun, the gun being automatically fired when the spring has returned it to its iiring position.

In the accompanying drawings, 10 designates the barrel of the gun which is of any spaced from each other, and the rear or enlarged end `of the barrel 10 resting upon these rails and sliding thereon. Any suitable means mayvabe provided for holding the barrel to the rails, but I have illustrated for this purpose adownwardly extending member such as a slide 15, provided with a cross head 16 engaging on the under side of the rails. l do not wish to belimited t0 the details of ,this construction, Disposed beneath the gun and beneath the rails 14 are tubular members, each formed of two sections 17 and 18 having telescopic engagement with each other. The barrel 10 of the gun is attached to the section 18 in any suitable manner, so that the section 18 and the gun barrel move together. This section 18 telescopes over the section 17, which is rigidly supported, and disposed within the tubular chamber formed by the sections 17 and 18 is a coiled compression spring 19. The forward and rear ends of the barrel 10 are connected to the sections 18 by means of the cross head 1'6 and of the member 16a. It is obvious that when the barrel 10 moves rearward, it will compress the spring 19 and that as soon as the recoil force has been spent, the spring 19 will cause the barrel to move forward again to its initial position. I do not wish to limit myself to an particular frame for the gun, as this wil be modified in many ways and I have simply illustrated the essential details of the gun. The rails 14 of the gun may be mounted upon a tripod, or any other suitable supporting means, dependlng upon the surface in which the gun is used.

In advance of the breech 2O of the gun, the barrel is slotted as at`21 and operating through this slot is a breech block 22 illustrated in detail in Fig. 6. This breech block has sliding movement transversely through the rear end of the barrel and when in one position entirely closes the breech and in another position opens the breech. The deative and closed position includes the two spaced rails or guides 23 mounted upon outwardly projecting members 24 or brackets forced to the frame of the gun. These rails 23, for a distance, extend parallel to the axis of the gun barrel and then extend innormally held in engagement between these rails and I have illustrated this lug 28 as mounted upon a swinging member 29 having a handle 30, this swinging member being urged inone direction by a spring 31, which acts to hold the lug in its operative position. The extremity of the extension 27 is provided with a handle 32 whereby the breech block, when the lug is disengaged from the rails 23, may be manually withdrawn from the barrel of the gun, or mannally closed or opened. The handle 30 is angular in form so as to provide a blade 30:L which is rotatable upon the lug 28 so that this blade may be turned into a slot 22LL formed in the breech block whereby to lock the lug 28 in its outwardly projecting position, as illustrated in Fig. 6. lVhen projected outward this lug 28 engages between the rails 23 and then the breech block cannot be manually withdrawn, but by rotating the handle 30 the blade 30a is released from its engagement with the slot 22a and then the lug 28 may be withdrawn from its engagement between the rails and the breech block be withdrawn by the handle 32.

Disposed within the breech block is a plug 33 of insulating material, which is adapted to contact with the primer of the cartridge and which forms a spark plug. Passing into and through this electric plug 33 is an electric wire 34 leading to a coil box A, the primary coil of which is connected to a suitable source of electricity and to a switch whereby a high tension current may be caused to pass into the spark plug, the spark formed thereby causing the explosion of the cartridge. It will be seen that as the gun moves forward to its firing position, the inclined portion 25 of the guides 23 will cause the inward movement of the breech block to its fully closed position just prior to the firing of the cartridge, as shown in Fig. 4, and that upon the return movement of the barrel under the recoil, the inclined portions of the rails will cause a retraction of the breech block and hold the breech block retracted until the Jun again. moves forward so that the breech lock is engaged by the inclined portion 25 and caused to close. As illustrated in Fig. 12, the cartridge a is perforated at its end as at e. This perforation is covered by a slip of paper or other suitable material c. When the spark jumps from the extren'lity of the wire 34, the spark will penetrate this paper c and ignite the charge.

For the purpose of holding the cartridge in the gun, I provide a detent or cartridge latch 35, which operates within the slot 21 for the breech block, this detent being connected to a spring 3G which urges the detent inward. Now when the breech block moves laterally into the gun barrel, it will contact with this detent 35 and shift the detent out of the way, so as to fully close the breech of the gun, as in Fig. 4. As soon as the breech block is retracted the detent 35 will swing back into normal position. The rear face of the detent is inclined so as to permit the passage of the cartridge by the detent and when once the cartridge is in place within the gun barrel, the detent springs back vover the rim of the. cartridge holding it firmlyv in place. Also disposed within the breech portion of the barrel and movable longitudinally across the slot 21,

is an ejector ring 37 which has an internal diameter just the size of the body of the cartridge, but less than the rim of the cartridge and at one point in its diameter this ring is operatively connected to a longitudinally movable plunger 38 operating within a bore formed in the barrel, there being a spring 39 which urges this plunger rearward and urges the ejector rin 37 rearward and against a stop 37". The ront wall of the slot 21 is cut away as at 40 to accommodate this ejector ring` Now when the breech block is retracted, it releases this ejector which forces the empty shell rearward into the loading chamber 11 from which it is ejected by means which will be `hereafter described. By referring to Fig.

6, it will be seen that the breech block is cut away at 41, thus providing two longitudinally extending parallel legs 42. The forward face of the breech block is formed with an inclined portion 43, which is adapted to engage the inclined face ofthe detent 35 and to force this detent outward in the manner heretofore described, as the breech block moves inward under the action lof the guides 25. Disposed within the tubular frame 12 but projecting beyond the forward end of this tubular frame is a loading plunger 44. Disposed between the plug 13 and the rear end of this plunger is a coiled compression spring which acts as a cushioning means for the plunger. The plunger is, relatively speaking, rigid and the barrels and the loading chamber move rearward over the plunger, instead of the plunger moving into the barrel and the loading chamber. It is this plunger 44 which forces the cartridge into position within the barrel.

The loading chamber 11 is out away upon its upper face to provide an opening 46, this opening being normally closed by a door 47, which is held in its closed position by a bolt, or other suitable latch engaging the butt end of the barrel. At its rear end the loading chamber 11 is open and at its forward end on its bottom the loading chamber is open as at 48. The loading chamber also is formed on one side adjacent its rear end with a longitudinally extending opening 49 having outwardly extending side walls 50. Attached to one of these side walls is a spring strip 51, whichextends rearward and laterally and is provided on its end with a tooth 52, the under face of which is beveled upward. This spring strip 51 is deflected so as to urge the tooth downward.

Disposed parallel to the/rails 14, that is parallel to the path of movement of the gun barrel and the loading chamber, is a trough 53, which has a width equal to the diameter of the cartridge and at its rear end a chute 54 empties into the trough, At

apoint just rearward of the forward end of the plunger 44, the side wall 55 of the trough 53 terminates. The other side wall 56 of the trough extends forward beyond the termination of the wall 55 and then eX- tends inward in a curve, as at 57 and then forward. The detent 52 travels along the trough 53 and on each travel draws a cartridge forward until it reaches the defiector 57, which causes the cartridge to enter the opening 49 into a position to be engagedby the plunger 44.

The operation of the gunl is as follows: Assuming that the gun is in its retracted 'position and that a cartridge hasbeen inserted in the Ibreech, and the springs within the tubular members 17 and 18 cause the gun barrel to move forward, then as the barrel and the loading cham'ber move forward, the

yAt this time the circuit is gradually completed through the firing plug 33 and the electric spark will explode the cartridge'.v The vrecoil of the explosion will cause the gun barrel and the loading chamber to travel iba-ck. lVhen the breech block reaches the inclined portion 25 of the rails 23, the

'breech block will commence to open and as soon as it is entirely open, the ejector 40 will.

,be urged rearward throwing the spent shell out of the breech and into the forward end of the loading chamber. This spent shell will drop through the opening 48 andv it is positively directed through this opening by `a gate 58,. which is hingedly mounted on the bottom of the loading chamber and it is urged upward and forward to an inclined position by means of the spring 59. Thus the spent shell will be positively 'ejected through the bottom opening 48. As the barrel and loading chamber move still farther rearward, the gate 58 will come in con.- tact with the cartridge disposed in front of the plunger 44 and upon a still farther rearward movement of the gun barrel and loading chamber, the gate will be forced downward into a position where it will bridge the opening 47 and the plunger will act to push'the cartridge into position within the breech 'and to force forward the ejector ring 37. When the cartridge has been forced fully home in the breech the latch 35 will engage over the cartridge locking it in place against the fo-rce of the spring 39. The bar# rel and the loading chamber have now reached their rearmost positions, the springs 19 are compressed to their fullest extent, 4and the gun' barrel and loading chamber are now fore/ed lforward carrying another cartridge into position to be shifted into the loading chamber, and eventually causing the closing of the breech and the iii-ing of the g I have not illustrated the gun sights, nor have I particularly illustrated the mounting of the gun for the reason that these matters do not particularly pertain to my invention and may Neither doV IV wish to be restricted to the particular form of mount or frame, as these may be obviously varied in many different ways.

Having described my invention, what I claim istn 1. In a rapid lire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, means for forcing a cartridge into the gun barrel upon its recoil movement, a breech block, means for closing the breech block upon the forward movement of the gun barrel, and electrically operated means for exploding the cartridge when the breech block has been closed.

2. In a rapid lire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, means for forcing a cartridge into the gun barrel upon its recoil movement, a breech block, means forvclosing the breech block upon the forward movement of the gun barrel, electrically operated means for exploding the cartridge when the breech block has been closed, said means including a spark plug disposed in the breech bloclr, and electrically operated means for causing a spark between the cartridge and said spark plug.

. 3. In a rapid yfire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, a breech block mounted for transverse movement throughthe barrel into or out 1 of operative position, and means for shifting the breech vblock into operative po- -siti'on asthe gun barrel reaches its forwardmost position'and for retracting the. breech block as theu gun barrelv moves rearwardly under the recoil, said means includingl rails extending approximately parallel to the line of travel of the gun barrel, said rails at' their forward ends 'being inwardly deflected, the breech block having sliding engagement with the said rails.

l. In a rap-id re gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, a breech block mounted to shift transversely through the barrel intovor :out of operative position, said breechblock carrying a projected stud, a pair of guide rails extending approximately parallel to the path of movement of the gun barrel and at their forward ends being inwardly inclined toward the gun barrel and then longitudinally extended, the stud engaging between said rails.

5. A rapid 4fire gun including a barrel shiftable longitudinally, a breech block mounted for movement into or out of operbe of any suitable character.

ative position, and means for shifting the breech block into operative position as the gun barrel moves forward and shifting the breech block out of operative position as the gun barrel moves rearward and including a rail extending approximately parallel to the line of travel of the gun barrel, said rail at its forward end being deflected, the breech block having operative sliding engagement with the said rail.

6. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel open at the breech, a loading chamber attached to and movable with the said barrel and extending therefrom and open at its rear end, means for causing the forward movement of the barrel after the recoil is spent, and means for shifting a cartridge into the barrel at the breech comprising a fixed plunger supported behind the loading chamber and projecting into the rear end thereof and adapted to engage a cartridge and shift it into position as the barrel moves' rearward.

7. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gunbarrel open at thev breech, a loading chamber attached to and movable with the said barrel and extending therefrom and open at its rear end, means for causing the forward movement of the barrel after the reoo il is spent, and means for shifting a cartridge in/to the barrel at the breech comprising a xed plunger supported behind the loading chamber and projecting into'the rear Iend' thereof and adapted to engage a cartridge and shift it into position as the barrel .moves rearward, and resilient cushioning means resisting rearward movement of the plunger. l

8. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel open at its rear end, a loading chainber connected to the rear end of the barrel and movable therewith, means for disposing cartridges one by one within the loading 'A chamber, means acting upon the recoil of the gun to force a cartridge into they rear end of the, barrel, a breech block, means acting upon'the recoil of the barrel to shift the breech 'block out of its operative position, said `means acting upon a forward movement of the barrel to shift the breech bleek into operative position, means for exploding the cartridge when the breech block is closed, means for ejecting the spent cartridge from the barrel into the loading chamber upon the recoil of the barrel and the retraction of the breech block, and means for discharging the spent cartridges from the loading chamber.

9. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel open at its rear end, a loading chamber connected thereto and movable therewith, a breech block shiftable into or out of operative position within the barrel, means i and upon the forward movement of thev barrel to shift the breech block into operative position when the barrel has reached a predetermined point in its forward movement, means for then firing the cartridge, means for ejecting the spent cartridge in the barrel, as the barrel moves rearward under the action of the recoil, and means for forcingy the new cartridge into the barrel comprising a relatively ixed plunger operating through the loading chamber and acting to shove the new cartridge into position as the barrel and loadin chamber move rearward.

l0. n a rapid fire gun, a recoil operated barrel, a loading chamber fixed to and'eX- tending rearward from the barrel, means acting to force the cartridge into position within the barrel as the barrel moves rearward, resilient means for engaging the cartridge and holding it to its seat, abreech block shiftable into or out of operative position, means, acting automatically to shift the breech block out of operative position as the barrel moves rearward and into operative position as the barrel moves forward, said breech block in moving into said operative position shifting the cartridge holding means vout of operative position, and means for exploding the cartridge when the barrel has moved forward to a predetermined position.

11. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted barrel open at its rear end, the rear end of the barrel being formed to provide an annular seat surrounding the bore of the barrel, an ejector ring disposed on said seat and forming a seat for the rim of the cartridge, a spring urging said ejector rim outward, a spring actuated latch engaging with the rim of the cartridge to hold the rim and ejector ring in said. seat, a breech block movable into and out of operative position and engageable with said latch to shift the latch out of operative position when the breech block is shifted inward to its operative position, and means for feeding-cartridges into the breech of the barrel upon the rearward movement of the barrel. I

1:2. In a rapid ire gun, a recoil shifted barrel, a loading chamber attached to the rear end of the barrel shifting therewith, said loading chamber having an opening in its bottom, the rear end of the barrel opening into the loading chamber, a gate normally urged to an upwardly inclined position above the discharge opening` of the loading chamber to thereby deflect the spent cartridge downward through said discharge opening, means i disposed in the breech of the gun barrel ejectin the spent cartridge therefrom, a loa ing plunger movable into the loading chamber through the rear end thereof and engaging the cartridge and forcing it forward toward the barrel, said movement causing the gate to close the discharge opening in the barrel and urging the cartridge'into position in the rear end of the barrel. l

13. In a gun of the character described, a supporting frame, a gun barrel and lload-` ing chamber mounted upon the supporting frame for longitudinal movement, a tubular y chamber formed of two telescopic sections, one of said sections being operatively connected to the gun barrel and movable therewith, aspringdisposed within said tubular chamber and uring the sections apart and resisting the rearward movement of the gun barrel under recoil, means for shifting a cartridge into the loading chamber as thel barrel and loading chamber move forward, means for shifting said cartridge into the breech of the gun barrel as the barrel moves rearward under the recoil, a breech block, means for shifting the breech block to a closed position upon the forward movement of the barrel, means for explodingthe cartridge, and means acting upon the return of the barrel to retractv the breech block and eject the spent cartridge.

' 14. In a gun, a supporting frame, a barrel slidingly mounted'upon the frame and.V

open at its breech, a breech block sliding into the barrel into or out ofoperative or inoperative position, avloading chamber attachedv to the rear end of the barrel and having an opening in its bottom adjacent the rear-vend of the barrel, and an opening in one side, a pivoted gate resiliently held in upwardly inclined position above said opening but movable into a position to bridge said rst named opening, a relatively fixed' plunger extending into the `rear end ofthe loading chamber and actin to force a cartridge into the breech of the arrel, when the barrel and loading chamber are retracted, a trough extending parallel to the barrel and having the portion at its forward enddeflected toward the barrel, means mounted upon the loading chamber disposed immediately rearward of the lateral opening in said loading chamber adapted to engage a cartridge in said trough, shift it forward against said deflected portion and shift the cartridge into the loading chamber through the lateral opening upon the forward movement of the gun -barrel and loading chamber, means acting vES extending rearward from the rear end of the breech. m fans for delivering cartridges into position in said loading chamber behind the gun barrel when the gun barrel is in its forward position, and means for forcing cartridges into the gun barrel comprising a relatively lixed plunger disposed behind the gun barrel and moving into and through the loading chamber upon the rearward movement of' the gun barrel and in front of which the, cartridges are disposed.

1G. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted barrel, a loading chamber having an opening in its bottom, a gate normally urged to an upwardly inclined position above the discharge opening of the loading chamber to thereby deflect'spent cartridges ejected by the barrel downward through said discharge opening, means disposed in the breech of the gun barrel ejecting the spent cartridges therefrom into said loading chamber and against the gate, and means for forcing eartridgesforward through the loading chamber into the breech.

17. In a gun, a supporting frame, a barrel slidably mounted upon the frame and open at its breech. a loading chamber attached to the rear end of the barrel and having an opening in one side to receive cartridges, and means for discharging cartridges into the loading chamber comprisinga trough extending parallel to the barrel and having a portion at its forward end defieeted toward the barrel, means mounted upon the loading chamber disposed immediately rearward of the lateral opening in said chamber adapted to engage a cartridge in the trough and shift it forward against said deflected portion and thereby shift the cartridge into the loading chamber through the lateral opening upon the forward movement of the gun barrel and loading chamber.

18. In a rapid tire gun. a barrel shiftable longitudinally, a breech block mounted for movement into or out of operative position relative to the barrel, a guide rail extending approximately parallel to the path of movement of the barrel, said guide rail intermediate its ends being inwardly inclined t0- ward the barrel, and means operatively engaging the breech block with said guide rail to cause the breech bloclr to shift into its closed position upon the engagement of said means with the deflected portion of the guide rail upon a forward movement of the barrel and to cause a retraction of the breech bloek upon engagement of said means with the deflected portion of the rail upon a rearward movement of the barrel, said means being shiftable out of operative engagementl with the guide rail to permit the breech block to be operated by hand.

19. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel` a breech bloel( mounted for movement into and out of operative position into the barrel, a pair of guide rails extending approximately parallel to the path of movement of the barrel and at their forward ends being inwardly inclined toward the barrel and then longitudinally extended, and means carried by the breech block t0 slidingly engage said guide rails. said means being shiftablo out of operative engagement with the guide rails to permit the breech block to be operated by hand.

20. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, a breech block mounted for movement into or out of operative position into the barrel, a pair of guide rails extending approximately parallel to the path of movement of the gun barrel, and having their forward ends detiected to shift the breech block into closed position, and means for operatively engagingA the, breech block with the rails comprising a member pivoted upon the breech block` a stud carried by said member and insertible between the rails, said stud being rotatable., and a locking member carried by the stud and rotatable therewith linto or out of locking engagement with the rails.

21. In a rapid fire gun, a recoil shifted gun barrel, a loading chamber having a rearward and forward movement and open at its ends and disposed in alinement with the gun barrel, means fo disposing cartridges within the loading cV amber as the barrel movesl forward, and means acting upon the recoil of the gun to force a cartridge from the loading chamber into the rear end of the barrel and including a plunger fixed from longitudinal movement relative to the barrel and loading chamber.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my si gnature'in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES R. SMITH.

Witnesses H. M. MURRAY, GEO. F. JORDAN. 

